Heuchera plant named &#39;Timeless Treasure&#39;

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct hybrid of Heuchera plant named ‘Timeless Treasure’ with many small to medium-sized, shallowly lobed, glossy leaves with rounded apices and lobes. Tightly-branched, upright, burgundy flower stems are repeatedly produced from early summer to early fall for about fourteen weeks displaying large, rosy-pink flowers. The new plant has a compact, herbaceous perennial habit with mounds of leaves beginning the season purplish-red and developing a light silvery-gray overlay between the greyed purple surrounding the veins. It is vigorous and produces showy flowers over a long season, effective as a specimen plant, en masse in the landscape, or as a container plant.

Botanical denomination: Heuchera hybrid.

Variety denomination: ‘Timeless Treasure’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(b)(6)

The first public disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of awebsite to the public and email release to customers, was made byWalters Gardens, Inc. on Feb. 1, 2018 followed by the Walters Gardens,Inc. Summer 2018-Spring 2019 catalog. The first public sales of Heuchera‘Timeless Treasure’ was by Walters Gardens, Inc. on Apr. 24, 2018.Walters Gardens, Inc. obtained the new plant and information about thenew plant directly from the inventor. No plants of Heuchera ‘TimelessTreasure’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, norhas any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one year priorthe filing date of this application, and such sale or disclosure withinone year was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of CoralBells in the Saxifragaceae family and given the cultivar name ofHeuchera ‘Timeless Treasure’. ‘Timeless Treasure’ was hybridized by theinventor on Jan. 30, 2012 at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland,Mich., USA. The seed or female parent was a proprietary, unreleasedproprietary hybrid known as 11-98-1 (not patented) and the pollen ormale parent was a proprietary unreleased hybrid known as K11-52-16 (notpatented).

Heuchera ‘Timeless Treasure’ was first selected in the fall of 2014 andpassed final evaluation in the fall of 2016 from among many otherseedlings from the same cross and hundreds of other crosses and assignedthe breeder code 12-144-8 through the remaining evaluation process.Heuchera ‘Timeless Treasure’ has been asexually propagated initially bybasal cuttings at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. in 2014 and laterby sterile, shoot-tip, tissue culture propagation, and the resultantplants have remained stable and continued to exhibit the samecharacteristics as the original plant for multiple generations.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The nearest comparison varieties include: the female parent 11-98-1,‘Grape Expectations’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,894, ‘Berry Timeless’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 26,357, ‘Peppermint’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,563, ‘Frost’U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,547, ‘Petite Marbled Burgundy’ U.S. Plant Pat.No. 11,059, Petite Pearl Fairy U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,058 and ‘GrapeTimeless’ copending U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 16/350,864.‘Grape Expectations’ has flowers that are creamy white for a shorterseason and the foliage is larger. ‘Berry Timeless’ has a similarprofusion of flowers throughout the season but the flower color islighter pink and the foliage is light green with slight silveringbetween the veins. ‘Peppermint’ has similar habit, leaf size and flowerperiod but the flowers are pale pink and the foliage is medium greenwith silvering between the veins. ‘Frost’ has more pointed foliar lobes,has white flowers on much shorter stalks with fewer flowers per stalk.‘Petite Marbled Burgundy’ has less purple in the foliage and the flowersare smaller and creamy white. ‘Petite Pearl Fairy’ has more green andless purple and silver in the foliage and the flowers are smaller andcreamy white. ‘Grape Timeless’ has shorter flower stems and smaller,lighter pink flowers, and the foliage is larger with more purple andless silver. The female parent, 11-98-1, has small caramel-color leaveswith near white flowers. The male parent has foliage with more greenishcolor and the flowers are produced over a shorter period on tallerstalks. Heuchera ‘Timeless Treasure’ differs from its parents as well asall other coral bells known to the applicant in the following combinedtraits:

1. The small to medium-sized, flat, glossy foliage has rounded apicesand lobes.

2. Leaf blades emerge purplish-red and develop a glossy, light,silvery-gray with greyed-purple area surrounding the veins.

3. Leaf blades are shallowly dissected with apices rounded andmucronulate.

4. Flowers are large, outwardly-facing, rosy-pink on dark-purple stems.

5. Flowering period begins in early summer and continues for aboutfourteen weeks into early fall with repeat panicles.

6. Compact, short, heavily-branched, burgundy panicles display flowersat multiple nodes beginning under foliage.

7. The new plant is vigorous and produces compact clumps and many smallto medium-sized individual leaves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of Heuchera ‘Timeless Treasure’ demonstrate the overallappearance of the plant including the unique traits of a plant in a fullsun trial block in Zeeland, Mich. The colors are as accurate asreasonably possible with color reproductions. Some slight variation ofcolor may occur as a result of lighting quality, intensity, wavelength,and direction or reflection.

FIG. 1 shows a two-year-old plant grown in a container in a partiallyshaded greenhouse in peak flowering season.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of a flower panicle with buds and flowers from atwo-year-old plant.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following description is based on two-year-old plants growing in apartially shaded greenhouse in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The new plant hasnot been grown under all possible environments and may phenotypicallyappear different under different conditions such as light, temperatures,fertilizer, and water, without any difference in genotype. The colordescriptions used are from the 2015 edition of The Royal HorticulturalSociety Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used.

-   Parentage: Female or seed parent was 11-98-1, a selection of a cross    between ‘Caramel’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,560 and a proprietary    selection of Heuchera parishii; the male or pollen parent was the    proprietary unreleased hybrid known only by the breeder code    K11-52-16, a selection from the cross between ‘Mocha Mint’ (not    patented) times ‘Milan’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,682;-   Plant habit: Hardy herbaceous perennial with basal rosette of    foliage; mounded foliage about 28.0 cm tall and 48.0 cm in diameter    with scapes to about 50.0 cm long; with about 6 branched stems per    plant to about 14.0 cm long and 1.5 cm diameter at base, about 3    branches per stem, with about 25 to 40 leaves per branch; about 32    scapes during peak flowering;-   Roots: Fibrous, finely branched;-   Growth rate: Rapid, rooting from cutting in two weeks and finishing    in three-liter container in about two and a half months;-   Foliage: Cordate to nearly rounded; micro-puberulent adaxial and    abaxial; palmately shallowly lobed with five main lobes shallowly    dissected, less than one-quarter of the distance to the petiole;    each main lobe with up to three very shallowly indented sub-lobes;    apex and lobe apices rounded and mucronulate; base cordate with    basal lobes nearly overlapping to overlapping about 0.5 cm; margins    crenate to mucronulate, ciliolate; lustrous adaxial and abaxial;    held nearly horizontal; margin mostly flat;-   Leaf blade size: To about 10.0 cm wide and 9.5 cm long, average    about 9.0 cm wide and 9.0 cm long;-   Leaf color: Spring and young emerging adaxial between RHS N186C and    RHS N186D between veins and area surrounding veins nearest RHS    N186B; spring young emerging abaxial nearest RHS 187B; mature    mid-season adaxial nearest blend between RHS N187B, RHS 202B and RHS    202C with a slight blush of nearest RHS 186C between the veins and    surrounding the veins nearest RHS N187A; abaxial mature mid-season    nearest RHS 187A; fall and winter adaxial nearest blend between RHS    198C and N187B with portion surrounding veins nearest RHS 137A;    abaxial fall and winter between RHS N186C and RHS 187A;-   Leaf quantity: Dense, about 300 per plant;-   Veins: Palmate; sparsely hirsutulous and costate abaxial, glabrous    and nearly flat adaxial;-   Vein color: Emerging or early spring adaxial nearest RHS 180C and    abaxial nearest RHS 185C; mid flowering season adaxial blend of    nearest RHS 195B and RHS 173C, mid flowering season abaxial nearest    RHS N170D; late season adaxial variable, nearest RHS 146D proximally    and nearest RHS 137A distally;-   Petiole: Cylindrical, base amplexicaul; micro-puberulent with hairs    to less than 0.1 mm long; to about 14.0 cm long and 4.0 mm wide    above stipule; average about 13.0 cm long and about 3.0 mm diameter    above stipule;-   Petiole color: Emerging leaf nearest RHS 187C; flowering season    mature leaf nearest RHS N186C with green undertones of nearest RHS    146C; late season nearest RHS 148A;-   Stipule: Flared at base of petiole; glaucous abaxial and adaxial;    margin ciliate; to about 2.0 cm long and about 12.0 mm wide at base;    with two lateral projections of about 5.0 mm long and 2.0 mm across    in distal portion;-   Stipule color: Young expanding adaxial and abaxial nearest RHS 164B    toward center and nearest RHS 164D along margins; mature adaxial and    abaxial nearest 186A toward center and nearest RHS 146D toward    margin;-   Peduncle: Panicle; cylindrical; stiff; pubescent; upright; densely    branched; to about 50.0 cm long and 4.0 mm diameter at base, average    about 47.0 cm tall and 3.5 mm diameter; about 40 per plant with up    to about 120 flowers per panicle, average about 100; initial flowers    under foliage; tightly-branched panicle with up to 18 branches up to    11.0 cm long and 1.0 mm diameter decreasing distally, average 15    branches per panicle; lower branches mostly upright becoming    outwardly distally; each branch subtended by foliar bract; flower    density moderate;-   Peduncle color: Nearest RHS N186C with undertones of nearest RHS    146C;-   Foliar bract: Oblong palmate; incised margins to deeply lobed; apex    acute; truncate clasping base; to 1.4 cm long and 1.0 cm across,    decreasing distally; sessile;-   Foliar bract color: Adaxial and abaxial nearest RHS 186C distally    and nearest RHS N186D proximally;-   Flowering longevity: Panicle effective for about two to four weeks;    individual flowers about 5 days; self-cleaning;-   Flowering period: Beginning early summer and repeating with new    panicles without the need to remove old panicles through early fall    for about 14 weeks;-   Pedicel: Cylindrical; puberulent; to about 5.0 mm long and 0.5 mm    diameter, average about 4.0 mm long and 0.5 mm diameter; attitude    outwardly;-   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 187C;-   Buds one day prior to opening: Ellipsoidal; rounded apex and    attenuate base; puberulent to glandular; about 6.0 mm long and 3.0    mm diameter;-   Bud color one day prior to opening: Nearest RHS 184C;-   Flower: Perfect; campanulate; actinomorphic; about 7.0 mm long and    10.0 mm in diameter at corolla face;-   Flower attitude: Outwardly;-   Calyx: Base fused in proximal 4.0 mm to form hypanthium; puberulent    to glandular abaxial, glabrous adaxial; about 8.0 mm long and 9.0 mm    wide at apex;-   Sepals: Five; lanceolate; acute apex, fused in basal 4.0 mm; to    about 8.0 mm long and 3.0 mm wide at fusion;-   Sepal color: Abaxial nearest RHS 185B, adaxial nearest RHS 184C with    slight undertone of nearest RHS 146D toward apex;-   Petals: Five; oblanceolate to spatulate; subacute apex and attenuate    base; margin entire; glabrous adaxial and abaxial; about 3.5 mm long    and 1.3 mm wide in middle;-   Petal color: Abaxial and adaxial between RHS 70C and RHS 70D;-   Androecium: Five adnate to adaxial sepal about 1.0 mm above base;    -   -   Filaments.—Five, thin, glabrous; about 1.0 mm long and about            0.3 mm diameter; color nearest RHS NN155B.        -   Anthers.—Ellipsoidal, distinct, basifixed, longitudinal;            about 1.0 mm long and about 0.5 mm across; color nearest RHS            18B.        -   Pollen.—Has not been observed.-   Gynoecium: One, two-beaked; half-inferior; bifid style with pistil    split at ovary; about 7.0 min long;    -   -   Style.—Bifid; split apart at apex of ovary; about 3.0 mm            long and about 0.5 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 63A.        -   Stigma.—Acute apex, about 0.3 mm diameter; color nearest RHS            186D.        -   Ovary.—Half-inferior, about 3.5 mm long and 2.0 mm diameter;            ellipsoidal to globose; acute apex and base rounded; color            lighter than RHS 160B.-   Fruit: Not yet observed;-   Seeds: Not yet observed;-   Disease and pest tolerance: The new plant grows best with ample    moisture and drainage in either part sun or full shade. Cold hardy    from USDA zones 4 to 9. Other resistance and tolerance outside of    that normal for Heuchera is not known.

It is claimed:
 1. The new and distinct Coral Bells plant named Heuchera‘Timeless Treasure’ as herein described and illustrated.